FULL Q&A with # 9 Christophe Landais

Accor Hospitality Middle East MD Christophe Landais outlines the successful growth of the company in the region to date and reveals his priorities, ambitions and some lesser known facts about himself

How long have you been in your current role?
I have been managing director of Accor Hospitality Middle East for almost 10 years now. I joined the Accor group in the year 2000 with responsibilities covering both the multi-brand Accor hotels’ development from economy lodging to upscale properties, as well as the Accor hotels operations in the Gulf region and Pakistan.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievements in this post?
I consider one of my greatest achievements in this post to be the successful introduction and launch of both internationally branded mid-scale properties with Novotel and economy lodging properties with Ibis in 2003. I’m proud to say that the Middle East team grew the regional Accor hotels portfolio to a critical mass of 27 hotels in operations in less than 10 years, with 19 hotels currently under construction throughout the Gulf region to be opened by 2011.

What was your first job?
My first job was as a bell boy during summer holiday in 1971. I was about 16 years old at that time. It was in a hotel on the west coast in La Rochelle, France.

During your career, what has been the strangest demand from a guest?

I cannot recall anything strange except for one client who drank a whole bottle of wine during his meal and then refused to pay for it at the end, claiming that he wine was corked. A new ‘uncorked’ bottle was brought to him; he tested it and paid for it, but could not drink it anymore.

If you were not managing director for Accor Middle East, what would you be?
Since I love animals and especially horses, I would love to breed horses.

How would your employees describe you?
I guess people I am working with will describe me as a rather good listener, supportive and consistent in my approach with a sense of urgency, not a chit chat person, walking the talk, and patient with a limit and the awareness not to go overboard.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself…
I could say that my favorite sport is running three times a week to remain fit both physically and mentally (I am not getting younger) and playing golf. Unfortunately, I could not find the time to play for the last two years due to my hectic business schedule and family commitments.

My favourite food is eggs in all sort of shape, which are quick and easy to prepare. I also enjoy reading the works of JK Rowling.

What impact has your company had on the Middle East’s hospitality sector?
Accor has set the benchmark for the growth of economy lodging in the Middle East region at a time when most hotels developed luxury offerings. Today, with the increasing market demand for no-frills, quality hotels, we are reaping the benefits of this network strategy.

Accor was the first to identify the emerging potential of the midscale and economy untapped markets in the Middle East, with the opening of Novotel and Ibis WTC in Dubai in 2003. In a hotel market set for catering to the high end demand, this positioning was quite innovative and revolutionary. This market test revealed highly positive, and therefore, the group decided to move to a strategic development of the two brands, taking advantage of their already strong international presence, their international notoriety and their simplicity.

The development of midscale and economy is seen through a network strategy, aiming at being present in every key market where business and leisure travellers will look for affordable hotel accommodation. Accor has always had a clear strategy of leadership in these segments for which density and spread are the rules of the game to outperform the market. By 2011, nine Novotel and 10 Ibis hotels will be in operation in the Middle East region.

What makes a successful managing director?
A successful managing director’s role in the service industry is to create and maintain
customer-driven operations with a vision that inspires hotel associates to do their best.
Overseeing the quality process to ensure guest satisfaction by consistent delivery of both
product and service quality to achieve the hotel’s financial objectives is key.He must have besides his business acumen, a thorough understanding and the experience required in all phases of hotel management, including development, sales and marketing, human resources, distribution, operation and budget/forecast management.

What are your priorities and ambitions?
My priority is to constantly innovate, create profitability through implementation of effective and efficient processes while continuing to develop people and respecting the physical evidence of each Accor Hospitality brand to be developed in the Middle East.

Accor Hospitality is expanding its management spread into upscale hotels with the recent introduction of the Pullman Hotels & Resorts in the region and the elevation of Sofitel in the luxury segment. We aim to increase Accor’s scale consistently and internationally through cost-effective hotel management, enhancing our relationships with our partners and perseverance during these critical times. Accor will continue to be a world-class international hotel brand managed by professionals. This comes from more than 40 years of experience acquired by the group in managing hotels.

This strategy forms our profitability quotient. Horizontally, by expanding chain hotel properties, consistently and comprehensively addressing both short and long-term investment factors, maximising Accor’s brand name recognition, sharing resources between hotel management and owners, diminishing investment risk factors/projections, enlarging properties and increasing competitiveness.

Vertically, we strengthen and coordinate partnerships with other stakeholders such as international travel agencies, airline companies, creating enhanced opportunities for increasing revenue and rapidly developing a firm foundation for all chain hotels under the Accor brand.

Who has been your inspiration in the industry?
The inspiration did not come from one person in particular but from the various leaders I have been working for and learning from throughout my career.

Have you any innovative management methods you use to inspire your team?
To maintain our hotel’s vigorous growth, we infuse honesty and a sense of purpose into every Accor employee. We place innovation as a priority throughout our entire hotel philosophy and culture. There are no real innovative methods but instead few key words driven by personal and corporate values, which hopefully are identical:

Focus: It is of paramount importance to choose the right priorities and stick to them.
Execution: In any well formulated plan, implementation is a critical point for success,
which should not be underestimated. Therefore, I am not expecting things to happen just
like that, so I go and ensure that things are really happening and on track.
Personal involvement : Leadership with passion is key for motivation as well as walking the talk